Dynamic Media already comes with a predefined Adaptive Video Encoding profile. The settings in this out-of-the-box profile are optimized to give your customers the best viewing experience possible. When you encode your master videos using the Adaptive Video Encoding profile, during playback the video player automatically adjusts the quality of the video stream based on the Internet connection speed of your customers. This is known as adaptive streaming.

The following are other factors that determine the quality of your videos:

Resolution of the uploaded master videoIf the MP4 video was recorded at a lower resolution, such as 240p or 360p, it cannot be streamed in high definition.

Video player sizeBy default, the "Width" in the Adaptive Video Encoding profile is set to “Auto.” Again, during playback, the best quaility is used based on the size of the player.

To generate a video's metadata and associated video image thumbnails, the video itself needs to go through the encoding process in Dynamic Media. In AEM, the Dynamic Media Encode Video workflow encodes video if you have enabled dynamic media and set up video cloud services. This workflow captures workflow process history and failure information. See Monitoring video encoding and YouTube publishing progress. If you have enabled dynamic media and set up video cloud services, the Dynamic Media Encode Video workflow automatically takes effect when you upload a video. (If you are not using dynamic media, the DAM Update Asset workflow takes effect.)

Metadata is useful when you are searching for assets. The thumbnails are static video images that are generated during encoding. They are required by the AEM system and used in the user interface to help you visually identify videos in the Cards view, Search Results view, and the Asset List view. You can see the generated thumbnails when you tap the Renditions icon (a painter's palette) of an encoded video.

Adaptive Video Encoding Presets

The following table identifies best practice encoding profiles for adaptive video streaming to mobile and tablet devices, and desktop computers. You can use these presets for any aspect ratio video.

Video Format Codec

Video Bitrate (Kbps)

Keep Aspect Ratio?

Video Size Width/Height (Pixels)

Video Frame Rate (Fps)

Audio Codec

Audio Bitrate

MP4 H.264 (mp4)

800

Yes

auto x 360

30

Dolby HE-AAC

128

MP4 H.264 (mp4)

1400

Yes

auto x 480

30

Dolby HE-AAC

128

MP4 H.264 (mp4)

2600

Yes

auto x 720

30

Dolby HE-AAC

128

Creating a video encoding profile for adaptive streaming

Dynamic Media already comes with a predefined Adaptive Video Encoding profile--a group of video upload settings for MP4 H.264-- that is optimized for the best viewing experience. You can use this profile when you upload your videos.

However, if this predefined profile does not meet your needs, you can choose to create your own adaptive video encoding profile. When you use the setting Encode for adaptive streaming--a best practice--all encoding presets that you add to the profile are validated to ensure that all videos have the same aspect ratio. In addition, the encoded videos are treated as a multi-bitrate set for streaming.

When you create the video encoding profile, you will notice that most encoding options are pre-populated with recommended default settings to help you. However, if you select a value other than the recommended default, be aware that it may result in poor video quality during playback and other performance issues.

So, for all MP4 H.264 video encoding presets in the profile, the following values are validated to ensure that they are the same across individual encoding presets in the profile, thereby making adaptive streaming is possible:

Video Format Codec - MP4 H.264 (.mp4)

Audio Codec

Audio Bitrate

Keep Aspect Ratio

Two Pass Encoding

Constant Bitrate

H264 Profile

Audio Sampling Rate

If the values are not the same, you can continue creating the profile as is. However, be aware that adaptive streaming will not be possible. Instead, users will experience single-bitrate streaming. It is recommended that you edit the encoding settings to use the same values across individual encoding presets in the profile.

On the Basic tab, set the video and audio options.
Tap the information icon next to each option for additional descriptions or recommended settings based on the selected video format codec.

Under the Video Size heading, ensure that Keep aspect ratio is checked.

In the Width field, enter auto; to the right of the Height field, tap the information icon.
Use the Size Calculator page to further set the video dimension (blue box) you want. Tap X in the upper-right corner when you are done.

In the upper-right corner of the page, tap Save again to save the profile.

Monitoring the Progress of an encoding job

You can view the error.log file to monitor the progress of an encoding job, to see if encoding is finished, or to see any job errors. The error.log is found in the logs folder where your instance of AEM is installed.

Creating a video encoding profile for progressive streaming

If you choose not to use the option Encode for adaptive streaming, be aware that all encoding presets that you add to the profile are treated as individual video renditions for single-bitrate streaming or progressive video delivery. Also, there is no validation to ensure that all the video renditions have the same aspect ratio.

On the Basic tab, set the video and audio options.
Tap the information icon next to each option for additional descriptions or recommended settings based on the selected video format codec.

(Optional) Under the Video Size heading, uncheck Keep aspect ratio.

In the Width field, enter auto; to the right of the Height field, tap the information icon. Use the Size Calculator page to further set the video dimension (blue box) how you want. Tap X when you are done.

(Optional) Do one of the following:

Tap the Advanced tab, and make sure the Use Default Values check box is selected (recommended).

Clear the Use Default Values check box and specify the video settings and audio settings you want.
Tap the information icon next to each option for additional descriptions or recommended settings based on the selected video format codec.

In the upper-right corner of the page, tap Save to save the preset.

Do one of the following:

Repeat steps 5-10 to create additional encoding presets.

In the upper-right corner of the page, tap Save to save the profile.

Using custom-added video encoding parameters

You can edit an existing video encoding profile to take advantage of advanced video encoding parameters that are not found in the user interface when you create or edit a Video Profile in AEM. You custom add one or more advanced parameters--such as minBitrate and maxBitrate--to your existing profile.

To use custom-added video encoding parameters:

Tap or click the AEM logo, then navigate to Tools > General > CRXDE Lite.

From the CRXDE Lite page, in the Explorer panel on the left, navigate to the following:

/etc/dam/video/dynamicmedia/name_of_video_encoding_profile_to_edit

In the panel on the lower-right side of the page, from the Properties tab, specify the Name, Type, and Value of the parameter you want to use.

The following advanced parameters are available to use:

Name

Description

Type

Value

h264Level

H.264 level to use for encoding. Normally this is automatically determined based on the encoding settings you are using.

String

10 * h264 level

For example, 3.0 = 30, 1.3 = 13)

No default value.

keyframe

The target number of frames between keyframes. Calculate this value to generate a keyframe every 2-10 seconds. For example, at 30 frames per second, the keyframe interval should be 60-300.

Lower keyframe intervals improve stream seeking and stream switching behavior for adaptive video encodings and may also improve the quality for videos that have lot of motion. However, because keyframes increase a file's size, a lower keyframe interval usually results in lower overall video quality at a given bitrate.

String

Positive number.

Default is 300.

Recommended value for HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) is 60-90.

minBitrate

Minimum bitrate to allow for variable bitrate encodings, in Kbps (kilobits per second).

This parameter only applies when Use Constant Bitrate is deselected in the Advanced tab when you create or edit a video encoding profile.

In the upper-left corner of the CRXDE Lite page, click or tap the Back Home icon to return to AEM.

Editing a video encoding profile

You can edit any video encoding profile you have created to add, edit, or delete video presets within that profile.

However, it is recommended that you do not edit the predefined Adaptive Video Encoding profile that came with Dynamic Media. Instead, you should copy the profile and save it. You can then edit the desired presets.

Deleting a video encoding profile

Applying a video profile to folders

When you assign a video profile to a folder, any subfolders automatically inherit the profile from its parent folder. This means that you can assign only one video profile to a folder. As such, consider carefully the folder structure of where you upload, store, use, and archive assets.

If you assigned a different video profile to a folder, the new profile overrides the previous profile. The previously existing folder assets remain unchanged. The new profile is applied on the assets that are added to the folder later.

Folders that have a profile assigned to it are indicated in the user interface by the name of the profile appearing in the card name.

You can apply video profiles to specific folders or globally to all assets.

Applying video profiles to specific folders

You can apply a video profile to a folder from within the Tools menu or if you are in the folder, from the Properties. This section describes how to apply video profiles to folders both ways.

Folders that have a profile already assigned to it are indicated by the display of the profile's name directly below the folder name.

Applying Video Profiles to Folders from Profiles user interface

Select the video profile that you want to apply to a folder or multiple folders.

Tap/click Apply Profile to Folder(s) and select the folder or multiple folders you want use to receive the newly uploaded assets and tap/click Done. Folders that have a profile already assigned to it are indicated by the display of the profile's name directly below the folder name.

Applying Video Profiles to Folders from Folder Settings

Tap or click the AEM logo and navigate to Assets and then to the folder that you want to apply a video profile to.

On the folder, tap or click the check mark to select it and then tap or click Properties.

Select the Video Profiles tab and select the profile from the drop-down menu and click Save. Folders that have a profile already assigned to it are indicated by the display of the profile's name directly below the folder name.

Applying a video profile globally

In addition to applying a profile to a folder, you can also apply one globally so that any content uploaded into AEM assets in any folder has the selected profile applied.

To apply a profile globally, do one of the following:

Navigate to http://<AEM server>/mnt/overlay/dam/gui/content/assets/foldersharewizard.html/content/dam and apply the appropriate profile and tap or click Save.

Navigate to CRXDE Lite to the following node: /content/dam/jcr:content. Add the property videoProfile:/etc/dam/video/dynamicmedia/<name of video encoding profile> and tap or click Save All.

Removing a Video Profile from Folders

When you remove a video profile from a folder, any subfolders automatically inherit the removal of the profile from its parent folder. However, any processing of files that has occurred within the folders remains intact.

You can remove a video profile from a folder from within the Tools menu or if you are in the folder, from the Folder Settings. This section describes how to remove video profiles from folders both ways.

Removing Video Profiles from Folders via Profiles user interface

Select the video profile that you want to remove from a folder or multiple folders.

Tap/click Remove Profile from Folder(s) and select the folder or multiple folders you want use to remove the profile from and tap/click Done.

You can confirm that the video profile is no longer applied to a folder because the name no longer appears below the folder name.

Removing Video Profiles from Folders via Properties

Tap or click the AEM logo and navigate to Assets and then to the folder that you want to remove a video profile from.

On the folder, tap or click the check mark to select it and then tap or click Properties.

Select the Video Profiles tab and select None from the drop-down menu and click Save. Folders that have a profile already assigned to it are indicated by the display of the profile's name directly below the folder name.

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